This Bond Between Us
by At the writer's block
Summary: My version of Terra's return, and the choices she makes afterword. See my profile for more information on why 12 chapters are now missing
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One:** This bond between us can't be broken, I will be here-don't you cry

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Teen Titans, etc

**Notes:** Terra second person POV (for this chapter only).

* * *

The pain came. Blinding, overwhelming. The prison finally breaking down, and the cold rushes in. Your clothes are of no use, they have decayed away months ago. The sound of rocks hitting the floor overwhelms your underused ears. You can't move your hands to cover them, and you can't cry out. You can't move a muscle, and it hurts too much to cry.

You are locked in your cross.

Gentle hands pick you up off the cold ground. You want to say something, anything, but can't. You can't even open your eyes to see what is happening-you have to keep them shut away from the light, that blinding light...

Then the hands bend your arms and try to move your legs and its been too long it hurts it hurts it hurts...!

Where are you? Where are you going? You have so much to ask, but you can barely breathe, let alone speak. You manage a whimper-at least it's something-

"It's alright," a familiar voice whispers, as you are wrapped in something that makes the cold somehow less cold. "It's going to be okay..." That voice, the hands caressing, you remember it from somewhere-it makes you want to believe him. You feel a pinch, something different from this real and true pain. THe voice speaks again, but now its fuzzy and far...

You want to...

Sleep...

--

You still hurt, but when you wake up again, you can actually move your eyes behind your eyelids. The lights here are brighter, but it isn't as bad as before. Still, it feels like a hot flame is licking away at your corneas.

Two figures are moving around you, from what you can hear. You try to talk again, but all you can do is whimper quietly. The little noise you can make is drowned out by the hum of machines. You still can't move (but what could you do, even if you could?) It feels like pins are jammed into every nerve in your body-and now you can hear voices...

"-exstensive, I'm surprised she's made it this far asleep. Speaking of, does she even need anesthesia? She doesn't seem to be awake, sir."

"She is. Her eyes just twitched." the familiar voice again-and you didn't even realize you could really move. You try to move again-and you are greeted with blinding light when your eyes actually open. If you could, you would scream for mercy.

"See?"

"Very well, then." A mask is placed over your face, and it all disapears, leaving you in a deep, quiet slumbur again.

--

Shocks-running down your spine-muscles spasming-kicking-thrashing-arms hold you down as-

Screaming in some insane language-wordless yells-nonsense words-lips moving faster than your mind-

Memories fly through your mind-recognition is almost useless-

A blonde hared woman, standing over you-A hand sticking out from under a mountain of mud-A scorpian, ready to spear you-A green face-moving closer to yours-Slade's face-

"Slade-!"

A huge gasp of air-

Darkness.

--

Your eyes snap open.

The pain is finally gone, and you seem to be lying in a bed-but where?

You try sitting up, slowly, in case it's still too painful. There are aches, but nothing that would keep you from moving too much. When you end up sitting in the bed, you find that someone has you wrapped up in your old bathrobe-the faded blue one, with stars stiched into it. Doors shut outside your room, and you move cautiously to the door and out of the room-Can you really be where you think you are?

You stand and toss your hair, seeing that it falls nearly past your elbows. Its been far too long.

Now there are voices outside the small room. You push the door open to look down the hall. You still can't see too well as you shuffle down, following the voices to a set of double doors. The layout bothers you, something about a safe house...

"-sure that she's still asleep, sir? It _is_ really all you can expect, at this point."

"I was worried it wouldn't work. You realize I basically had to rebuild all of her muscles?" (That was the familiar voice...)

"The damage was extensive, but I-"

"I don't even know if Terra'll even be able to function properly, now." At the sound of your name, you push the door open, but you end up wavering slightly. Its too much to keep standing, now you're dizzy. Someone gasps, then a shout; "Terra!"

As you feel his arms catch you mid-fall, and all you can manage to say is "How long have I been dead?"

* * *

**More Notes: **Music of the Night is You'll be in My Heart by Phil Collins

Be gentle with your reviews, and I'll have a new chapter up soon!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:** Just close your pretty eyes and you can be with me. . . dream on.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything.

**Notes:** I need to use less pronouns, because being mysterious isn't getting me anywhere. Also, this is kinda just me wanting to give Wintergreen a semi-important intro. (Wintergreen was that butler guy in the first few episodes of Teen Titans, when we were getting our Slade intro)

* * *

A few weeks after her fainting spell in a dining room she didn't recognize, Terra raises a shaking hand to touch the corners of her eyes, and says in shock, "I've changed."

She isn't referring to the time spent re-learning how to use most of her muscles-the ones Slade couldn't fix in surgery-or the time it took for her to trust him again. It's still too soon for her to be sure of how to act around Slade, even if he trusted her enough to not wear his mask around her. He hadn't brought up anything from before the incident at the volcano, and he had mostly left her alone.

The rooms where she was basically re-trained her to move around didn't have mirrors, nor did the bathrooms. It wasn't until today that Terra asked to see herself in one. Slade had spent as much time as he could keeping her away from mirrors until she had filled out a little more, to lessen the shock of her eyes.

"It's because of the lack of exposure to light," Slade explains, standing by the door. "You'll have a sensitivity to light, and may develop sunburns, even on cloudy days."

"My eyes are gray," is Terra's response as she tries to recognize the pale face that would give Raven a run for her money. They aren't gray, as much as a much paler blue, but she always had the ability to overexagerate small things.

"That is an unfortunate side effect." He sighes, and adds, "I'm sorry."

"Its not your fault." she says automatically. She stares at the mirror in silence, for a while, until she realizes that she's staring past her face, and at his. "So, um, Wintergreen still works here?" she says, breaking the silence.

"Yes, but he's retiring soon. Maybe another year."

"Oh." they are silent again. Then-

"Are you hungry?" Her face lights up at his request, and she follows him down the hall.

Wintergreen sat in the kitchen, stirring his soup with one hand and, every minute or so, turning the pages of his current novel with the other. He was only half listening to Terra and Slade talking quietly in the dining room. He had chosen not to eat in the other room with them for about a week now; something about the familiarity they still have is a bit unsettling for him, only because he's seen what has happened to women Slade used to know...and Terra's too nice for that.

He looks up when the door opens, and Slade walks in carrying the dinner dishes, and they nod to each other. Slade quickly washes and stacks the plates and silverware, while Wintergreen sits quietly. When Slade gets to the door, Wintergreen speaks up. "Sir?"

"Yes?"

"Just remember, even though she kept growing inside that statue, she's still a scared teenage girl. If she still has control of her powers-"

"She doesn't."

"Still, we need to be careful." They both know that when he says 'We," he means "You."

Wintergreen had suggested, when it seemed as if Terra wouldn't wake up, that she be brought to a hospital, where she could hopefully re-enter the system. It was the closest he had come to telling Slade that she did not belong here, living with them (especially living with Slade).

Wintergreen knew Slade didn't care much for caution, and this idea was reinforced when Slade simply answered "I will," and left the room.

UGH I couldn't think of a good way to finish this chapter. I just wanted to get that out, but I didn't think it would be enough by itself. More later

Song of the night: Teo Torriate (Let us cling together)-Queen


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: **Are you lost or incomplete? Do you feel like a puzzle; you can't find your missing piece?

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything.

**Notes**: This is just me easing my way into the idea of this kinda pairing.

* * *

Terra walked around the armchair slowly, then at the plasma TV and DVD player set up in front of it on a small wooden stand. Her eyes took in the straps on the arms of the chair, and she said "All you want me to do is...watch TV?"  
"Yes," Slade replied.

"...But you hate TV. Except for the news." She looked up at him, obviously wary of the situation.

"This is going to help you, I promise."

"If it's going to help, why do I have to be strapped in?"

"Just in case." He said it casually, but was avoiding her gaze now.

"In that case, I'm going to sit this little experiment out." She turned to walk out of the room, when Slade caught her shoulder.

"This isn't an experiment. What you are going to do is watch the clips, which will be sending you subliminol messages-"

"What-?"

"Its going to help you learn-"

"Why would I want to learn? Especially like this!"

"So that you can blend back in. I'm right in assuming you've never been to high school, or even middle school for that matter?"

She glared at her feet for a moment, but mumbled "No."

"And the private school I've picked out for you is currently wrapping up their mid-terms, and I want to bring you up to speed. This is the quickest and least painful way I could think of."

"Fine! Just...no more surgery."

She scowled at him, and he returned her glare. After a moment, she looked down and said "Sorry."

"I promise...that there won't be any more surgery."

"Thank you," she said quietly. She walked over to the chair and sat down as Slade began to strap her down. "Where are you going to be during this?"

"If you want, right in this room."

Terra nodded as he picked up a remote beside the TV, turned it on, and walked around next to it. He sat down on a small folding chair, and watched Terra watch the DVD.

It was short, irrelevent series of shots of Jump City, accompanied by a dull, british voice. Terra found herself zomnng out and just looking for landmarks she recognized. The only thing she noticed was Titan's Tower, which made her feel slightly guilty. She looked over to Slade quickly, who jerked his head at the screen, as if to say 'Pay attention!'

When the screen finally faded to black, Slade sighed and said, "You all right?"

"Yes," Terra answered warily.

"What street do you live on?" he asked.

"That's a stupid question," Terra thought, "I barely remember my name!" She opened her mouth to say this, but instead she said "Wolfram Road."

"House number?"

"203." Then, "Woah."

"Exactly. Who am I?"

"Slade Wilson. You were a friend of my parents, who died during certain supernatural events last summer." She pulled a face, and said "I really know all this now?"

He nodded, and said, "Scary?"

"A little," she admitted. Then she asked, "What 'supernatural events'?"

"That is the next DVD." Terra groaned and asked "How many are there?"

"After we cover the basics..about ten."

"Great.." she said sacrastically, and settled back in her chair.

-

Her screams woke him up later on that night. Slade's eye snapped open, and he automatically reached over by the lamp for his mask, forgetting that he had packed it away the night before. He got up anyway, grabbing a bathrobe, and ran for Terra's room, expecting and readying for a break in, or thugs of some sort...not Terra thrashing alone under her covers. He ran to the side of the bed as she began to shriek again.

"Terra?" he said, shaking her shoulders. "Its only a nightmare, its okay..."

Her eyes snapped open, and she stared up at him. "Oh my god..." she sat up slowly, and he knelt by her bed. "It was insane...horrible..." Her broken sentences and look in her face let Slade know that she was till half-asleep. "I thought that I was turning back to stone...flames everywhere," she said sleepily. Then her eyes widened in shock, and she said "You were dead! I...It was horrible!"

"Its okay now, it was only a dream." he said, starting to stand.

"Don't leave!" she said, grabbing his arm, and -before he could react- pulled him into her arms.

For a moment, he just knelt there and tried to think. She was terrified, of course, and she was just looking for comfort. That was it. Still, that didn't make the situation any less awkward. He could not recall being hugged by anyone for the simple reason of making sure he would stay.

But he stayed that way, holding her close, until her breathing slowed, and she fell asleep. After he laid her back onto her pillows, he looked down to her, thinking...

-

I know nothing on subliminal messaging. This is fiction, I'll do what I want!

* * *

I know nothing on subliminal messaging, and the idea I got for it was from Brave New World (Thank you, Brit/Lit class!)

Music: Talk by Coldplay


	4. Chapter 4

**Title: **She's got me hooked, it just ain't fair...and I think she knows

**Disclaimer: **I don't own them, etc.

**Notes:** For those of you who think that this is creepy? Its about to get creepier. So stay away if this ship freaks you out, OK?

* * *

It was weird to say so, but Terra actually liked living with Slade. It was definately better than when she had to work for him, when everyday meant new bruises and more pain. The fact that it all meant more control made up for it. Well, right up until that suit...

She involuntarily grabbed her elbows, running her fingers over the scars. It was so easy to forget them when he was being so...nice. Or at least, he was working to help her for real. No more, "This will help, now let me use you as a punching bag." He'd gotten her into a private school, inventing a fake family that died when Trigon attacked Jump City (which Slade later filled her in on.) Now, she was Tara Markos, who was now an orphan. She was already taking classes at Murakami School, and had met two girls who were kind of nice, named Lindsey and Maggie. The uniforms weren't so bad either, if you ignored the ties.

Not that her life was suddenly so simple. She still had to deal with terrifying nightmare, and daily aches and pains. Not to mention all sorts of medications Slade perscribed her. Her body wasn't used to living, so to speak, and she would probably have to take medication for the rest of her life.

"Still," she said to herself, "There's nothing like being able to walk on your own." Her feet skipped lightly over the hardwood flooring. She ran around the table, collecting the silverware and cups she, Slade and Wintergreen had left behind from dinner, when Slade walked back in. "Hey!" she said with a grin. "I was about to bring these in, but if-"

"Terra, forget the dishes."

She stopped short, and looked up at him. Slade hadn't used that tone in ages. "What's wrong?"

"We need to talk about our-your future."

"Oh." she sat down slowly in one of the dining room chairs, and placed the dishes next to her on the table. "What about it?"

He took a deep breath, and sat down next to her, and said "I've just been thinking about your, well, life. I think it would be in our -your best interests if we tried to get you settled back into the city, with a foster family, and-"

"I thought the story was that you were my legal guardian," she said quietly.

"Well, yes, but living in this building and never really interacting-"

"I go to school, and I interact!" She didn't mean for it to sound so harsh, but Terra didn't like the direction Slade was taking anyway.

"I know, but what I mean is-"

"Are you telling me that I have to leave?" Terra interrupted him again. It crossed her mind that he'd be mad, but instead he kept trying to persuade her.

"It will start to look suspicious if the Titans figure out that you're no longer a statue, and if we set you up with a family somewhere outside of Jump City, or at least away from the center of the city, you won't have to worry about them tracking you down." He tilted his head to look at her. Terra was looking at her hands on her lap, looking as if she was about to cry. "Terra?"

"No."

"No?"

"I can find my own way. I don't need your help with this." She stood up and walked out of the room, Slade only a few feet behind her.

"We can talk about this Terra-"

"You don't need to talk, I just don't need your help." she said, picking up the pace as she headed down the hall. "I'm just gonna go pack, you don't need to follow me." she added, yelling over her shoulder.

"Terra, I'm not going to make you do this if you don't want to!"

"It won't last anyway!" she whirled around to face him, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "It won't matter that I don't care what anyone says! I don't care how creepy it seems to anybody, because I'm happy here! I like living here!" she took a deep breath; "God, I just-I wanted to...I want to stay here," she finished quietly, turning and walking into her room.

"Terra," he started again, following her in, "It's not because I don't care-"

"No? Well, why would you anyway!" she shouted angrily, trying to pull a half-full suitcase out from under her bed.

"What do you mean why-is that what I think it is?" he said, staring at the suitcase.

"Yes, it is!" she said angrily, and continued on without waiting for his reply. "I ran away from you the first time I met you, and then ran BACK to you, expecting to be welcomed back. Then I had to leave again, and when I finally came back, I betrayed you!"

"I don't care about that, Terra!" he ran over to her side, and grabbed her hands. "If I was still mad at you about all of that, do you really think I'd let you stay?"

"Slade..."she said slowly, staring at their hands, "What are you say-"

"I don't care about anything but your well being and...and you."

Her head snapped up to face his. She almost blurted something out, but she just let her mouth close without saying anything. He was looking at her with complete seriousness. She stared into his blue eye, and felt herself blush. She knew why she wanted to stay, and, looking at him, she couldn't remember why she'd ever want to leave...

His hand moved up to her elbows, covering her scars, and half-guided her to him. She whispered his name just once right before he kissed her.

When they moved apart, she swallowed hard. "Um," she started, then looked at the ground.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly.

"Don't be-I just, um..." she kept her eyes on the ground, neither of them sure what to say. "I'm gonna go unpack."

"Fine."

She sat on the edge of her bed as he walked away, feeling blood flow away from her cheecks as her blush faded.

The one thought that stayed with her was that the last time they had been that close, they were fighting.

* * *

The two men sat across from each other, both seemingly intent on the game of chess set up before them, but the dialogue told a different story.

"Damnit," Slade mumbled, surveying the chessboard.

"I warned you."

"I _know_!"

"A bit late for that, now, isn't it?"

"I realize this!"

"Still, a brilliant way to tell her to leave-"

"Would you just-stop?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but I told you to send her away before this sort of thing happened! I mean, honestly, what good is going to come out of this? And can I just ask you," Wintergreen continued, "_What were you thinking!_"

"...I don't know."

Wintergreen massaged his temples slowly before he continued with the conversation. "It wouldn't work anyway. And when I say this, I'm focusing mainly on the age factor here." he paused, then asked "Does she know about your son?"

Slade's eyes flickered up from the board, briefly. "Do you think she would've let me if she did?"

"No." He paused for a moment. "But it did happen. And now you have to do something about it."

"What do you expect me to tell her? That I don't care anymore?"

Wintergreen held one of his pieces poised over the game board as he asked, "Do you?"

Slade forced himself to slowly move his head back and forth. "No."

--

Terra pulled her head back away from the door, squeezing her eyes shut, and whispering one quick sentance to herself as she ran back into her room:

"You don't care, don't let him see you cry. You don't care, don't let him see you cry..."

--

Wintergreen looked up at him with a mixture of disbelief ond digust, and said "You're lying!"

"Did I at least do it with a straight face?"

"...Yes."

"Well, fine then. I'll go talk to her now." he said simply, knocking over Wintergreen's king.

* * *

**More Notes: **I probably should've stopped after Terra's bit there, but again, the Idea had been bothering me all day.

For all you Monty Python fans, I was seriously considering writing "Intercourse the dishes!" instead of "Terra, forget the dishes." But I thought that it would ruin the flow :D

Music for tonight: Lovestoned/I Think She Knows Interlude


	5. Chapter 5

**Title: **Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for, you can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for

**Disclaimer:** Yo no paseo. Translate THAT moderators!

**Notes:** Angsty much…so beware!

* * *

Slade paused outside her bedroom door, thinking over what he would have to say. There could be no way she could stay now...everything was getting to risky. It wasn't that he wanted her to leave, he had to make sure Terra understood that; this was for her on well-being. 

He took a deep breath, and knocked twice on her bedroom door. There was no answer. He knocked again, then said, 'Terra?"

After a pause, he heard her reply quietly "Come in."

He opened the door slowly, and saw her staring at the suitcase she'd dragged out earlier. It was still as full as it was when she'd pulled it out earlier, and she was holding a grey t-shirt above the rest of the clothes. "Are you unpacking, or re-packing?" he asked.

"Re-packing," she said quietly. She placed the shirt in the suitcase, and turned smoothly to her dresser, so that her back was to Slade. "I think I'll just head out on my own," she added, as she pulled a few pairs of jean out of one of the dresser drawers.

"Are you sure?" he asked, taking a few steps towards her, trying to make eye contact. She seemed to be intent on avoiding his gaze.

Terra moved away from him before she answered. "I know what I want to do." she closed her eyes and willed herself to continue. "I'm going to leave. I can do it alone...I've done it before." She zipped the suitcase shut slowly, and added "Can I just ask for enough money for a train ticket?"

"Terra-"

"I'll be fine," her voice dropped to a whisper, "We just have to forget this had happened."

"But-"

"I don't care anymore." she said, without even trying to stop herself. She squeezed her eyes shut, and said in reply to his stunned silence, "I'll be ready to go soon." then, "Please leave."

"Terra, were you listening to my conversation-"

"I heard enough. Please leave."

He backed out of the room slowly, realization dawning on his face, but keeping quiet anyway.

-----

She sat on the stairs in front of the doorway, lacing up her boots slowly. She didn't say a word when Slade sat next to her, and only acknoledged him when he held out a money clip. She counted the bills quickly, then looked up at him. "I only need enough for a ticket, though."

"I know. The rest is for food, and whatever else you might need."

"It's too much," she protested.

"Take it. I want to make sure you'll be alright." When she didn't say anything, he added "You don't have to go."

She swallowed, and lifted her head high enough so that she could see the front door. She couldn't imagine leaving this building now, even after only a month living with him. She stared at her suitcase by the door, and said to herself 'You dont have to leave...'

She walked away from the bottom stair and stood next to the door. Terra took a deep breath, and reached for the handle of her suitcase. Instead of picking it up straight away, she ran back over to the stairs, hugged him briefly, and whispered "I'm sorry," in his ear.

Slade simply sat there, stunned, as she ran out the door.

* * *

**More Notes**: ...yeah, I **am** in some kinda funk...Review and such. 

Song of the night is Bryan Adams-(Everything I Do) I Do It For You


End file.
